


Perfect Fit

by roebling



Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Retail, Fluff, M/M, TheBrownieBunch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-16 23:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2289461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roebling/pseuds/roebling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Youngjae's job at Clothing Remarks, a hoity-toity clothing boutique, can be all kind of frustrating, but nobody is as frustrating as Creepy Kid, the strange, staring customer who comes in and hangs around and never buys a thing. It's not like he's doing anything wrong, but nobody can like clothes that much -- can they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect Fit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ihaveplates](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihaveplates/gifts).



> This is for the wonderful [ihaveplates](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ihaveplates/pseuds/ihaveplates) for [TheBrownieBunch Fic Exchange 3](http://thebrowniebunch.livejournal.com). I hope you like it ♥♥♥
> 
> Thanks to [michelleisat](http://archiveofourown.org/users/michelleisat/pseuds/michelleisat) for a super fast and very observant beta (even when I only sent her half the story!!) ♥

Youngjae is in the back of store refolding a stack of new-season sweaters when Daehyun come rushing up.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the register?" Youngjae narrows his eyes. He knows it's not likely that whole queue of people are waiting to buy fifty dollar merino socks or cuff links made from recycled subway tokens or any of the other ridiculous and overpriced stuff they sell. But still. If Daehyun is on the register he should pay attention.

Daehyun ignores him. "Creepy Kid is here again," he says in a stage whisper.

Youngjae frowns more deeply. "What? Back again?"

Daehyun nods. "Over by the shoes."

"Ugh," Youngjae says, stacking up the last grey sweater. "What's he doing here again? I'm gonna ask him to leave."

Daehyun rolls his eyes. "Don't be a narc," he says. "The kid just wants to creep around the store a little bit. What's it to you?"

“I’m not a _narc_. There are no drugs involved, Daehyun.” Youngjae glares. 

Daehyun smirks and looks unconcerned. He knows how much Creepy Kid bothers Youngjae. 

Ugh. Fine. "I'm going in the back to do receiving. Watch him."

"Aye aye, captain," Daehyun says, mockingly. "If the scary teenager tries anything, I'll let you know."

 

*****

Youngjae hates his job. He'd been desperate enough as a freshman in college to consider anything, and when Daehyun said he was going to apply at Clothing Remarks, an upscale fashion boutique a few blocks away from their school, Youngjae had tagged along and filled out an application of his own. It wasn't that surprising when Daehyun, who was handsome and gregarious and had retail experience, got called back for an interview, but Youngjae hadn't been expecting that he'd get an interview too. It had been even more surprising when they offered him a job. They'd mistaken his black tee shirts and plain jeans for fashion sensiblity and liked his unimpressed sarcasm. The former is more a consequence of laziness than any inherent style, but the later has served him well.

He slices open a box. Receiving is preferable to being on the floor, but it's still frustrating. Shoes, this time. Expensive loafers made of dyed slate grey calf leather and leopard print ankle boots. Youngjae shakes his head. The boots are going to retail for 700,000 won. The only thing more ridiculous than the clothes they sell are the people that buy them.

Or is it the other way around?

*****

Creepy Kid is over by the new display of early autumn jackets when Youngjae comes out of the back. He's young (or he looks young at least) and he's tall and slim with unremarkable handsome features. Just like usual, he's dressed in some kind of thrift store disaster of an outfit (teal plaid shirt, tight white shorts, tee shirt with some kind of ironically chic cartoon illustration). In all these particulars he doesn't look that different from most of the slim, affected people who frequent the store.

In truth the only creepy thing about him is that he comes to the store and stays way longer than anyone should, fingering the french cuffs of Paul Smith shirts, gazing longingly at Band of Outsiders suits, and glaring at Youngjae whenever he thinks Youngjae won’t notice. He's not needy or demanding. (In fact, Youngjae's only actual exchange with Creepy Kid went as follows: "Hello. Can I help you try something on?" Blank stare. "Um, no." "... Okay then. Let me know if I can help you with anything.") Youngjae doesn't know his age, or his name, or anything about him, and he doesn't have any real reason to dislike him.

It's just weird and annoying. How can anyone really like clothes that much? Youngjae still wears the same plain jeans and black shirts that got him hired, even though Daehyun is always telling him he should take advantage of the staff discount.

Speaking of Daehyun, Youngjae looks around to see if he's anywhere that he can readily keep an eye on their customer. He's up at the register in his usual pose, leaning back against the counter. He'd actually have a good view of Creepy Kid, if he weren't trying to win the Korean National Title in Speed Texting.

Daehyun is so engaged he doesn't even notice Youngjae until Youngjae taps him on the shoulder. Then he drops his phone, startled.

"Watch it," he says. "I just got the screen repaired."

"You wanna go take your break?" Youngjae asks.

Daehyun rolls his eyes. He always wants to go take his break. "I'm going to that coffee place down the street. You want anything?"

"Iced coffee," Youngjae says, pulling out his wallet. "And I know you've got a crush on the barista, but try not to stay too long this time, okay?"

Daehyun grins. "I guess it depends on how much free coffee he gives me today."

*****

Youngjae clears the clutter behind the register and sells a young man wearing ridiculous sunglasses a pair of hemp shoelaces that cost 40,000 won. Daehyun still has another twenty minutes on break, and the shop is empty.

Except.

Creepy Kid is still here, looking at what has to be the most hideous thing in the store. It's a black thigh length leather coat with covered in metallic grommets. The arms are made out of some kind of silver material. Daehyun tried it on once, as a joke, and it looked like he was dressing up as a cheese grater. It costs a cool ₩ 3,500,000.

Creepy Kid isn't doing anything wrong, exactly. He's not even touching it. He's just staring intently, like he's trying to imagine what it would look like if he slipped it over his shoulders.

"Sir," Youngjae says. "Can I help you with that?"

Creepy Kid jumps. He looks like he's been caught with his hand in the candy jar.

"Um," he says. "Um, no. I'm just looking." His voice is pleasant and a little higher than Youngjae would have thought. Still.

Youngjae folds his arms over his chest. "You could probably pull that off with your height, but I'm not sure why you'd want to go around dressed up as a Dalek."

Creepy Kid stares blankly.

Youngjae rolls his eyes. This kid needs to spend a little less time gawking at ugly clothes and a little more time becoming acquainted with pop cultural milestones.

"Why don't you try something like this instead?" He turns, and gestures to a classic trench coat in black. "You definitely have the height and build to pull it off."

Creepy Kid's cheeks start to get red. "Um."

Youngjae has learned that the key to being a good salesman is to utterly ignore all signs of social discomfort. If you are cheerful and optimistic, your customers will becomes so too, and hopefully buy something in the process.

"A trench coat is a classic wardrobe staple that will never go out of style." He smiles, forcefully. "You can't go wrong."

"Ummmm." Creepy Kid swallows. "I'm really just looking," he says. "I ... uh."

Youngjae frowns. This kid has been lurking around for weeks and he hasn't even come up with an excuse for it yet. "You?"

"I .... uh. I'll be back. Yeah. I'll be back once I ... um."

White faced except for his burning cheeks, he turns tail and runs out the door.

"What a weirdo" Youngjae says, shaking his head. Hopefully this will be the last of him, and Youngjae can concentrate on the weirdos that come in to actually spend money. 

*****

Daehyun finally comes back from his break.

"You messed with him? You really messed with him?" He wrinkles his nose. "Youngjae, you're so lame."

Youngjae sips his iced coffee fiercely. "Why lame? This isn't public property? What gives him the right to come in here and waste hours of our time and not even spend a ..."

Daehyun shakes his head. "You're really worked up about this kid. He hasn't stolen anything. He doesn't even shuffle through all the sweaters and leave them unfolded. What's the difference to you if he comes and hangs around the store?"

"He's ..." Youngjae frowns. It's not like he's spent hours and hours thinking about this kid. Of course there's nothing really _wrong_ with what he's doing. It's just ... annoying. "I don't like it," he tells Daehyun.

Daehyun raises an eyebrow. "Dude, maybe you just need to get over yourself."

Youngjae doesn't talk to him for the rest of the day.

*****

Saturday mornings are always busy. Daehyun normally works Saturdays, but this week he had an audition (he was a vocal performance major, and now he's waiting for his big break) so Youngjae is covering for him. Yongguk is the other person on this morning. If anything, he likes dealing with customers even less than Youngjae does; he's in the back doing inventory. Youngjae can think of very few jobs Yongguk would be less well suited for, but then, his sister's boyfriend owns the shop and he can take off any time he needs to for shows, so he guesses that makes it tolerable.

Youngjae's not sure what makes it tolerable for him.

Thankfully, this particular Saturday isn't quite as busy as some. School is just starting up, and the kids are back in classes. Presumably they're all using this time to study. Youngjae, who graduated back in May, considers that the kids of today are more studious than he himself was at the beginning of each term.

The door opens, and Youngjae is almost glad for a customer. "Hey," he says, cheerful, "Welcome to Clothing Remarks. Let me know if ..."

He trails off. It's Creepy Kid, and he has a determined look on his face.

"Actually, you can," he says. His clothes are a little less random today - tight black jeans that cling to his thighs, a striped blue and white sweater, and classic black Dr. Martens. Maybe this new style is a reflection of his newly discovered assertiveness.

"Um."

Well, maybe Youngjae spoke too soon. He sighs.

"What are you looking for, exactly? You've spent enough time here you probably know our stock better than I do."

Creepy Kid blushes, but he looks mostly undeterred. "I need help picking out an outfit," he says. "I um .... I'm gonna go on a date with someone. Someone older and more sophisticated, and I really want to impress him."

Oh. Well then.

"Hmm," Youngjae says, folding his arms. "I think I can help you with that."

*****

Creepy Kid - actual name Choi Junhong - is a sophomore studying graphic design, but his true passions are skateboarding, rap music, and fashion. He's dyed his hair blonde since he was fifteen years old. He moved to Seoul from Jeolla and he hasn't been back since. All this Youngjae learns while he leads Junhong around the shop, piling expensive cashmere sweaters and white shirts in his arms. He's picking out things for Junhong to try on, which is kind of fun. Youngjae doesn't always like giving the customers his opinions on the clothes, because he thinks so many of them are ugly, but Junhong seems perfectly content to let Youngjae make all the choices.

"Which color do you like better?" Youngjae asks, holding up two tee shirts, one in salmon and one in grey.

"The pink one," Junhong says, smiling. "I'm glad I get to try something that's not black or white."

Youngjae frowns. He glances down at his own black jeans and black tee shirt. "Black and white are classic."

Junhong nods in enthusiastic agreement. "Classic," he says, "But a little boring."

"Hmmph," Youngjae says, and picks up the shirt in black anyway, just because.

*****

Finally Junhong is in the dressing room. Youngjae had gone back and told Yongguk that he was personally assisting a very important (or very infamous anyway) customer, and Yongguk had agreed to watch the front for a while. Youngjae hands things in to Junhong through the curtain.

"So," he says, hoping that making conversation will give him something to think about other than Junhong undressing just a few feet away. "What's he like?"

"Who?" Junhong sounds muffled, like he's got a shirt around his mouth.

"The guy you're going on a date with." Youngjae rolls his eyes. That's the whole point of this, isn't it?

"Ohhhh," Junhong says. "Well, he's older than me."

"How much older? Way older?" He pauses, hoping he didn't sound judgmental. "There's nothing wrong with being into older men. I find silver hair very attractive."

Junhong laughs. "Not that old," he says. "He was a few years above me at school, but he's graduated now."

"Ah," Youngjae says. "Crushing on sunbae, huh?"

"No," Junhong says, "not like that. I didn't know him at school. I mean. I had just seen him around campus and stuff. I didn't get to know him until after he graduated."

"Wow," Youngjae says. "That's like something out of a movie. How did you meet him then?"

"Uh. We uh. I ran into him while I was shopping, actually."

"You really like shopping, huh?" Youngjae makes an exasperated expression, but Junhong can't see of course. "Do you have that first outfit on yet?"

The curtain rustles and Junhong steps out. He's wearing tight fitting black slacks and a very soft grey sweater that's so pale and fine that the pink of his skin shows through and it looks almost lavender.

"What do you think?" Youngjae asks.

"It looks nice," Junhong says. "It's just ... hmm. I guess I like things that are a little more colorful."

"Okay," Youngjae says, trying hard to be pleasant and patient. "Let's try the next one, then."

Next is a sharp suit in very soft navy wool, which Junhong wears with the salmon colored tee shirt. His bare feet are long and he crinkles his toes into the carpet when he steps out to let Youngjae take a look.

"I like it," Youngjae says, and he does. Junhong's long, lean body looks good in the tight, modern cut of the suit.

"I do too," Junhong says, with some enthusiasm. "But I think it's a little too formal."

Youngjae closes his eyes and breathes in through his nose. "Okayyyy."

Junhong tries on a button down shirt over linen slacks ("It looks like I'm going to the beach"). He tries on a black leather jacket and denim jeans ("I really do like it, but ... I don't think I can afford this jacket, Youngjae-ssi").

Youngjae hates trying on clothes personally, and the amusement of watching someone else do it is wearing off. Junhong's face settles deeper into sullen frown with every outfit. He has some criticism or critique of everything, and it’s starting to seem like he doesn't want Youngjae's opinion at all.

"You seem to have a pretty strong sense of your own style," Youngjae says, eyes narrow and arms folded, reminding himself that as much of a waste of time as this has been at least he’s not paid on commission. 

"Yeah," Junhong says. "I really like clothes." He's changed back into his jeans and striped shirt. "I guess you must understand that."

Youngjae frowns, confused. "Not really," he admits. "I dress up a little bit to come here, but honestly, clothes are just clothes and this is just a job for me."

Junhong's face falls even more. "Oh," he says, sounding miserable.

"Anyway," Youngjae says, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "If this guy really likes you, I don't think you should worry about dressing up to impress him."

Junhong sighs. "Ah, well .... I guess the thing is that I haven't actually asked him out yet."

"Oh," Youngjae says. He feels guilty for some reason, but he doesn't know why.

"Yeah," Junhong says. "I really wanted him to think I was stylish and cool and stuff, but ... well, I guess it's not really going to work."

"Oh," Youngjae says again.

"Yeah," Junhong says, staring at his feet. "Anyway, thank you, Youngjae-ssi."

"You're welcome," Youngjae says, glumly. He shifts some of the sweaters Junhong tried into his other arm. "Hey, you seem like a pretty cool, smart kid, Junhong. I think you should just go for it and ask this guy out anyway. He'd be stupid to say no just because of what you’re wearing."

Junhong looks thoughtful. "You really think so?"

"Definitely." Youngjae nods. "It would totally be his loss."

*****

"You idiot," Daehyun says.

"What?" Youngjae hunches over his cup of coffee. It's a few hours, after Clothing Remarks has closed, and he's at the coffee shop with Daehyun and Daehyun's barista friend Himchan.

"Dude, he was totally crushing on _you_. You know he never came into the shop except when you were there, right?"

"What?" Youngjae frowns. "What are you talking about? That's not true."

"Yes it is," Daehyun says. "Have you ever asked Yongguk? He never came around when the two of us were working, and besides, he was always staring at you."

Youngjae is about to reply that of course the Creepy Kid was staring; that's why he was creepy, but he finds he doesn't really think that’s true. Junhong seemed shy and a bit confused, but not really creepy at all. 

"I'm inclined to agree with Daehyun," Himchan says. "It was actually rather sweet of him."

"Yeah," Daehyun says. "Too bad you're so oblivious."

"Well, he didn't actually ask me." Youngjae says, feeling miserable. "I mean ... It's not like ... I guess I would ... Maybe he'll come back." 

Daehyun claps Youngjae on the shoulder. "Yeah, he's definitely going to come back now that you've crushed his dreams. Good job, Youngjae."

Youngjae hangs his head.

*****

A few months removed from his own graduation and the campus commons look totally strange and alien. This time last year Youngjae would have been at his favorite table in the library, cramming before a calculus test. Now all the kids look way too young.

"Hey," he says to the first person whose attention he catches. He's a short, broad boy with a big freckle on the side of his nose. "Do you know a sophomore here by the name of Junhong? Tall kid with blonde hair?"

"Junhonggie?" The kid frowns. "How do you know him?"

"Oh," Youngjae says, waving a hand. "I work at Clothing Remarks. He left something there the last time ..."

"Ohhhhh," the kid says. "From Clothing Remarks. He’s mentioned you." He smiles. "He has a free hour this period, so he should be over in the cafe."

"Thanks," Youngjae says.

"Good luck!" the kid says, giving him a thumb's up.

The cafeteria is teeming. Youngjae feels like he sticks out like a sore thumb, although he knows that he's got a young face. Half the kids here look older than he does. He scans the crowd and catches a glimpse of bright blonde hair at a table in the far corner.

Junhong looks shocked when Youngjae slides into the seat across from him.

"Youngjae-ssi, what are you doing here?" Junhong frowns, and pulls his notebook closer like he's preparing for the possibility of a sudden flight.

"Listen," Youngjae says. "I'm really not sophisticated or stylish or anything. Like I said, I only got the job because my roommate applied there. I like Dr. Who and comic books and video games. I studied economics in school, and I wear pretty much the same thing every day."

"Oh," Junhong say.

He opens his mouth like he's about to continue, but Youngjae wants to finish. "I'm really not any of those things you thought. I'm pretty much an idiot, actually, but if you still want to go on a date with me, I would say yes."

"Really?" Junhong's eyes are crinkled up at the corners, and his mouth is on the verge of a smile.

"Yeah," Youngjae says. "I guess it's good to try something different once in a while."


End file.
